In his poem Marmion, Sir Walter Scott said something profound: “Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”

As we grow up in our respective communities, most people want to be seen in a favorable light. Some just want to be noticed. In some way they want to be accepted by their peers. However the case may be, people have a tendency to change their behavior or do compromising things to gain the acceptance of their peer groups or even society. You’ve seen it before. You’ve seen people do weird things. A tattooed body, or dye their hair green or blue, knowing they weren’t born with that color hair. They may paint their nails a bright color. They may cut their hair short on one side, and the other side may be cut in layers. They may dye their skin to match their clothes. You’ve seen tattooed people, and you ask them why they are so covered, they respond that they like them. But when you run out of canvas, where do you turn to? The Bible tells us not to tattoo ourselves, not to make marks on our flesh. Think about this, to change your attitude to change your behavior to suit someone else or some situation, because you want to be validated or accepted.

Some may just want to be accepted just by their peer group, whether old young, schooled or unschooled. Whatever individuals or groups or situations you’re in, you want to change who you are to fit in. No one wants to be the odd ball. So we’ll do what it takes not to be. Sometimes we’ll go beyond who we are. We do things so people will accept who we are and what we stand for. We don’t want to be the odd ball, the one that stands out and people point a finger at, the nerd. There are those who would go along with a lie to keep you from feeling different about them. There are some who would go along with the program, so as not to be the one who stands out against. Understand this: many aren’t always aware of the repercussions of their actions. They are not aware of what they are doing. All those things build up and add up, and cause people to have other issues. If you let something fester long enough what happens to it? It goes bad and begins to effect other aspects of who and what you are. When it comes time that all those things have added up and we don’t alleviate ourselves of them, they come at the most inopportune time.

When you do things, you reap what you sow. It will bring up underlining things later on, in your life, or in some situation where you are doing good. Do you know reaping doesn’t have a watch? However, it does have memory, perfect sequences of time to do what it does. You may not get it then, but you will get it later. You bothered this individual, year after year, over and over. You dog them out for so long. Guess what, you don’t bother them but you hurt them, bringing about a pain in that individual, and you don’t get it straight. Low and behold, your life goes great, everything is great. But its the seeds you’ve sown previously that are still out there. Does a seed come up as soon as its planted? No. It dies first, and brings forth new life. So when you lie on someone for years and years, never getting it straight, you’ve planted those seeds of lies. Lies need support. Then a situation comes up in your life where you need a person to tell the truth. Then all of a sudden reaping has memory. Your harvest from that lie is a lying harvest. One thing we don’t catch as human beings is that there are consequences for everything, which have a domino effect. It just doesn’t effect one thing, it effects several things, in your life. Its important to note that while these unexpected events in your life are going on, you too have caused hurt and pain in someone else. Its the promise we break and the choices we make that determines our end. 

Even today, some of us may have things in our lives we’ve forgotten about. Those things we’ve put on the back burner of our mind. Or had some things very hurtful, that have caused us or someone else to have pain. You might just tell yourself, “put it in the back of your mind, and it will resolve itself.” How many times have you done that and it worries you? It never stays in the back, it comes to the front. Why does that happen so much for a Child of God who never got things corrected? He will bring it to your remembrance until you get it corrected. Old wounds don’t heal? Why? Because if you keep nursing it, it will never resolve itself. What do I mean by nursing? What did I tell you about a lie? It needs support. When you hurt someone, that hurt you caused hurts them, but it sticks in your craw. People have been damaged and wounded by others. Those wounds and damages cause you not to think right. When a Child of God has damaged someone else, their prayers are tainted? Why? Its tainted with pain, anguish and hurt that you haven’t gotten corrected. So when you pray you offer God pain and anguish that you caused someone else. He won’t hear you. Come to Him with a pure heart. Some have been wounded to the point where they can’t pray right or think right. When your prayers are tainted with pain and revenge. 

¹⁵ Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. ¹⁶ But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

Matthew 18:15-16 

We must be about loving our brothers; showing love. We can’t point the finger at someone and say “that’s what you get.” We have to be on guard with how we talk and what we say. We have to give an account of every idle word we speak. The Word says let your words be few and seasoned with grace. But if you refuse to get something corrected with you brother, and you try to seek out God, He will not be pleased. Your brother is your first responsibility. To love, nourish, encourage, to help grow to the potential where they should go. Don’t get to the point where God has to chase you down to get you to do what He says.  We need to understand hurting our brothers and sisters in Christ should be the farthest things from our hearts. Christians are good for talking love, but never showing it. Some of the greatest wars were fought by people who said they were Christian. Everyone is not a Christian, and just because they say they are doesn’t make it so. When the tire meets the road, you’ll know those who are true, because the river of life will flow out of us; the anointing will flow out of us. This walk is not easy, but if there is mess in us, the Lord will take us on a hard walk to get us to be fit as His Child. It gets you out of you, and puts Christ in you fully. As you walk though it, don’t look at it as the Lord whooping you, but He’s creating in you something that never was before. In order to create something good and kind hearted like Him, He has to take you through that. Sometimes we become problems to Him because we always stand in His way. The Lord told us to do something, but we won’t do it. We must remember that as humans we have a mandate on all of us, and that is to love one another, even in spite of ourselves. If we don’t we’ll only wind up hurting ourselves and our relationship with Christ. 

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. ² The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. ³ The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Proverbs 15:1-3

What does love have that hatred can never have? Caring. Hatred does not care. When you love you care, when you care, you don’t want to hurt a person or see them fail. You want to see them succeed and you do your best even when you don’t succeed. Because love never fails. While you’re helping them, all the while God has your back.

Don’t leave a seed of bitterness, hatred or anger. The harvest that you will come up with, you’ll not want to receive.

⁵ For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.⁶ For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.⁷ Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? ⁸ This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. ⁹ A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. ¹⁰ I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. ¹¹ And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased. ¹² I would they were even cut off which trouble you. ¹³ For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. ¹⁴ For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ¹⁵ But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

Galatians 5:7-15

A little bit of leaven, leavens the whole lump. A little bit of the sin nature it just doesn’t effect one particular thing, but every aspect of your life.